A GUIDED walk down Box Mines raised almost £450 for a veterans' charity.

A group of 12 volunteers from Bath were guided down the mines as part of their Walk Home For Christmas effort, raising £437.50 for Walking With the Wounded (WWTW).

Walking With The Wounded supports veterans with physical, mental or social injuries on their journey to long-term security, independence and employment.

Miranda Edwards, 47, who works at Bath Abbey said: “This charity is close to our hearts because my husband Gavin was in the RAF as was my father, John Shedden, and before that the Royal Navy.

“We wanted to raise money by doing something a little different. Going down the mines was an incredible experience and very interesting. We came out more muddy than we went in, having crawled out on our stomachs."

Walking Home For Christmas raises funds for WWTW’s Home Straight programme which supports homeless veterans back into employment and independence.

Home Straight programme manager Amy Franklin said: “Every £40,000 raised will allow us to fund another employment mentor for the Home Straight programme. This project supports homeless veterans to regain their independence through employment.

“Since Home Straight was launched 18 months ago, it has supported over 350 veterans, of which over 30 per cent are now in sustainable employment.

"Walking With The Wounded works with homeless residences to place an employment mentor into that location to provide specialist career support.

"Currently our employment mentors each work with approximately 30 homeless veterans. They work on a one-to-one basis to build confidence, assist in drafting successful CVs, organise work placements, source funding for training and ultimately assist in gaining sustainable long-term careers and therefore independence for them and their families.”